Schumi No More!

As the sun set at the Sao Paulo race track in Brazil, the world bid farewell to one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1. You might hate him or love him, but no matter what you feel about him, you do know him. The one person who comes in your mind when you hear the word Formula 1? It has to be none other than Michael Schumacher.

My earliest memories of F1 date back to 1998 when my friends would make fun of my love for a sport in which cars went round and round on a race track. It did seem a little tedious at first to sit through a complete race, but the scarlet Ferrari and Schumi kept me glued to my seat.

What was it about this incredible driver that made people sit up and take notice of this sport all over the world? Who is Schumacher and how did he manage to do so much in this sport that has made him one of the most loved, hated, admired, and criticized figure in the history of the sports world itself?

Son of a brick layer, Schumi got into racing at a very young age. Thanks to his father who ran a local kart track at Kerpen as a second job, he began kart-racing when he was only four and a half years old. He went on to win his first kart championship at the tender age of six and the rest, as they say, is history.

Schumacher went on to compete in different races from 1984 onwards in Germany and the rest of Europe. In 1988, he joined the Formula Ford series and competed in the German Formula 3 for two years, winning the title in 1990. The racing king, as he would emerge later, made his debut in Formula 1 in 1991 for the Jordan-Ford team and raced the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement driver. He made a great impression on not only Team Jordan but others as well and was signed up by Benetton-Ford. He went on to win his first championship for Benetton in 1994, a year made sad for Formula 1 due to the tragic death of Aryton Senna.

Victories and controversies went hand in hand with Schumacher. His move to join the Ferrari team in 1996 came as a surprise to many. Ferrari was not the highly feared team back then. The team had not won a single driver’s championship since 1979. The car they were racing was nothing close to the scarlet beauty that reigns on the race tracks now. In fact, the car was so bad it was called a “pig”, “truck” and “an accident waiting to happen” by Ferrari drivers themselves.

This otherwise risky move proved to be a blessing in disguise for both Ferrari and Schumacher. Now, Ferrari is a force to reckon with and Schumi, well, he is not just the greatest F1 driver, but has also been termed as the greatest athlete in the world by Golf champ, Tiger Woods.

His incredible record speaks volumes about his work, his driving and his greatness. He has a record seven Formula 1 world championships to his credit. He has stood first on the podium 91 times, with 72 wins with Ferrari only and has 68 pole positions. He has broken all the previously held records of other F1 drivers. In 2002, Ferrari’s most dominant year, Schumi took his fifth driver’s title, thus equaling the record with Juan Manuel Fangio. (Fangio was one of the most legendary drivers in F1. Known as the maestro by his peers, he won his second title in 1954 while driving for the Mercedes team. He went on to win four titles with them. Interestingly, Fangio also finished fourth in his last race in 1958, at the Circuit de Nevers Magny Cours in France).

His list of records equaled and broken are endless. In 2002, he broke not only his own record of nine victories in one season but that of Nigel Mansell (A British driver, he was nicknamed The Lion for his dogged, never-say-die attitude. During his fifteen year career in F1, he raced for Williams and Ferrari. In 1992, while driving for Williams he won nine out of sixteen races, starting from pole position in no less than fourteen of them) by scoring eleven wins and standing on the podium at every race. Schumi went ahead to break Fangio’s record in 2003 by clinching his sixth world championship.

In 2006, when Schumacher took his pole position for the 65th time at the Bahrain International Circuit, he equaled Senna’s record of 65 pole positions. This record had stood unchallenged for twelve years after Senna’s death.

Again, in 2004, Schumacher and Ferrari were unbeatable with Schumi winning a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season. It was in 2004 when he added another driver’s title, his seventh, to his illustrious career. According to the official Formula 1 website, he is statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.

Critics of Schumacher would point out 2005 as the year when Alonso came forward as a great F1 driver and ended Schumi’s winning streak. 2005 was a year marred by problems at the Ferrari camp. The new rules for tyres (which were now required to last the whole distance of the race) affected the performance of the previously successful Bridgestone tyres. His only victory came at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, a race in which only six cars contested after the rest pulled out due to Michelin tyre problems.

All good things have to come to an end some day. 2006 will go down in the history of the sport as the season which saw the legendary Schumacher making his final appearance. After taking the victory at the Italian Grand Prix, an emotional Schumacher announced his retirement.

His race for the title did not end though. A phenomenal driver, he fought till the very end of the Brazilian Grand Prix, displaying his prowess right to the chequered flag. Any other driver would have called it quits after the puncture in the initial laps of the race, but then, Schumi is not just any other driver. He is the greatest driver Formula 1 racing has ever seen who has written a fantastic, inspiring and unforgettable story in the history of Formula 1.

Thanks Schumi!